"When you think about an issue as complex as plastic pollution, or even climate change, the question is usually; how can we make children care enough about the issue for them to act differently? Which is very challenging," says Ukwenza VR co-founder and CEO Njeri Ndonga.
"Virtual reality comes in helping them, one, conceptualise the problem. It's one thing to say 'don't throw away waste,' but it is another thing to understand that if I throw away a plastic bottle, it will end up in the Indian Ocean and it will affect marine life, which then affects me because I want to eat that fish. So, you are able to create a chain that helps them connect their action to each thing that happens along the way.
Pupils at Mcedo Beijing School in Nairobi's Mathare neighbourhood have been learning about the collection and segregation of waste.
"Ukwenza VR has helped me and other students to take care of the environment by separating plastics and organic waste," says student Annette Jeptoo.
"Before, I would use plastic bottles and dispose of them by any means, but now I am not buying soda or water using a plastic bottle. I buy soda in a glass bottle," says Rooney Odhiambo, another pupil.
Kenya-based Ukwenza VR mainly works with schools in low-income areas, offering virtual field trips to students that would otherwise be impossible due to financial constraints.
//This is the best use case argument for VR I have heard - low income students who may not be able to afford school trips get to see and experience the wider world around them.
